106 ESSAY ON PEAR TREES. 



seed-bed and set out in rows, in the nursery. If the soil is good, 

 they should be budded during the second and third years of their 

 growth, and for this purpose the month of August is preferable. 



Soil and preparation of it for transplanting. A good loam, on a 

 dry and loose subsoil, is the best for the cultivation of the pear. Eleva- 

 ted vspots are preferable, and in this climate a southern exposure is 

 always to be chosen. Heavy, rich soils, with hard pan beneath, are 

 unfavorable for the pear. A rich soil tends to force the wood of the 

 tree into a very luxuriant growth at the expense of the fruit, and 

 the wood made on such soils is frequently a late growth, unripe when 

 attacked by the frost in Autumn, and liable to be killed by the frozen 

 sap blight ; and when covering a clayey subsoil, usually retains an un- 

 due amount of moisture, which is very injurious to the roots of the 

 tree. Some recommend, on such lands, to dig a large hole into the 

 subsoil, and fill it with properly prepared earth. But this is evidently 

 injudicious, for a complete basin is by that means created, without 

 any outlet, and all the evils of constant moisture and rich soil will 

 follow. The wood of the tree will be forced, and the roots decay in 

 consequence of such treatment. Pear roots need moisture, but it is 

 injurious for the water to remain and stagnate about them. The sub- 

 soil should be of such character as to allow it to drain off readily. 

 For this reason the slope of a hill is preferred for standard trees. 

 The subsoil which is best for the pear is seldom covered with a loam 

 strong enough even for the pear, consequently the land should be 

 properly manured and cultivated before the trees are planted. The 

 best manures for this purpose are muck, meadow-mud, or muscle-bed 

 "well pulverized ; other manures well composted will answer where 

 the above mentioned cannot be readily obtained. Where the soil is 

 very Ught and dry, a top dressing of clay is very beneficial. The ma- 

 nure should be well rotted and incorporated into the soil before the 

 pear trees are planted. 



Transplantiyig , and best time for doing it. Having selected the 

 spot for pear trees, and prepared the soil for their reception, the next 

 process is the transplanting of the trees. This is usually done when 

 the trees are from two to three years on the bud. Pears grafted on 

 free stocks, should be sot out in gardens from fifteen to twenty feet 

 apart, and in orchards, from twenty to twenty-five feet, to allow suffi- 

 cient room for the growth of the branches and nourishment for the 

 roots. Pears grafted on the quince stock or thorn, may be set out 



